Orchid Festival

Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange will celebrate the orchid, one of the most beautiful flowers in the world, from Oct. 6-13. At Shangri La, there will be daily tours of the Exhibition Greenhouses, classes and presentations highlighting the orchid, and a variety of orchids will also be available for purchase at Shangri La’s Garden Store.

At 9:30 a.m., the program The Poetry of Plants will begin. Learn to use orchids as inspiration and write orchid haikus. This program will start and end in the Nature Discovery Lab, and will include a stroll through the Epiphyte Greenhouse.

Join Darrin Duling, Director of Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens at 11 a.m. for Paradise Preserved: Adventures in the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest. Take a visit to the Macae de Cima Forest Reserve in the Organ Mountains of Brazil. This 38,000-acre tropical mountain paradise, full of endangered orchids and other rare plants, exist only through the efforts of one couple’s 30-year struggle to keep loggers and developers away. Enjoy images of breath-taking vistas and beautiful flowers that still remain in this small portion of pristine rainforest.

On Oct. 13, the Saturday Adventure Series will be I Scream for Orchids. In this program, you will learn about the vanilla orchid, make vanilla ice cream, and talk about other uses of edible orchids around the world. Ice cream lovers of all ages will enjoy this program.

Space is limited so call (409) 670-9799 for details or view shangrilagardens.org.

In addition to the events at Shangri La, both the Stark Museum of Art and The W.H. Stark House are hosting activities related to orchids.

The Museum will have a mini-exhibit, Orchid Festival, which features lithographs of exotic orchids from rare books in the Museum’s collection. Librarian Jenniffer Hudson Connors will give a spotlight Obsessed with Orchids: Botanical Art of the Nineteenth Century about the role of artists and publishers in satisfying the public fascination with orchids during the 1800s. The spotlight times are Oct. 6 at 12:45 p.m., 1:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.; Oct. 9 at 11:45 a.m.; Oct. 10 at 11:45 a.m.

For more information view starkmuseum.org or call (409) 886-2787.

The W.H. Stark House will have a display of images of the 1917 Lord and Burnham Greenhouse, which originally stood on the grounds of The House and is now in use as the Shangri La Epiphyte Greenhouse, along with images of the preceding 1909 greenhouse and various images from antique orchid books. Those attending Orchid Festival activities at Shangri La are invited to keep their admission ticket from anytime during October 6-13 to receive a complimentary tour of The House during that same week. Call (409) 883-0871 or view whstarkhouse.org for more information.

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